Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic admitted their involvement in the crimes

Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for from six and 10 years in May 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using another car to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the group to deny the charge but was found guilty by jurors

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices off as they approached their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars took cash and jewellery valued at £80,000 and an Audi from footballer Alexander Isak's property

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek further action to "satisfy the sum due".

Amanda Hill
Amanda Hill

Elara is a seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in slot machine mechanics and player strategy optimization.